Cricket in Taiwan reaches an impressive landmark this weekend as the Taiwan Annual Cricket Tournament celebrates its 10th anniversary in Pingtung.
This weekend’s competition will see four of Taiwan’s top teams battle it out for the title in a tournament that is a far cry from how things were.
Englishman Andrew Carrick, tournament organizer and chairman of Taiwan Southerners Cricket Club (TSCC), remembers those days vividly.
PHOTO: RICHARD HAZELDINE, TAIPEI TIMES
“I joined a club in Kaohsiung around 17 or 18 years ago that played with coconut matting on grass fields,” Carrick said.
Everything was pretty disorganized at the time and a few years later his beloved sport was in serious danger of “fizzling out,” he said.
So, armed with stumps and matting brought in from England, Carrick managed to find the Sugar Factory Ground, while also getting in contact with a Sri Lankan team from Hsinchu and the Indians of the Taipei Cricket Association (TCA) to stage the first tournament in November 1999.
“The TCA had a bit of a shock when they stepped off the bus in their club blazers and came face to face with a bunch of English teachers,” Carrick said.
The shock didn’t put the TCA off their game, though, as they “absolutely hammered us” to take the inaugural event, he said.
“I think we lost around 10 to 15 balls,” he laughed.
Indian Dilip Amarnani of the TCA also remembers the inaugural tournament well.
“The Sri Lankans needed a six off the last ball to win, and when their batsman whacked the ball towards the boundary I thought we had blown it,” he said.
Luckily, they had a fielder well placed on the boundary and he plucked the ball out the air to hand the TCA victory.
“It was like a movie,” he said. “We were so happy that we were singing and drinking on the plane back to Taipei. The stewardess had to tell us to pipe down.”
Another veteran of Taiwan’s cricket scene, Formosa Cricket Club’s (FCC) Prem Purswaney, also has many fond memories, as defending champions FCC have a good record in Pingtung, having won the trophy three times.
He said he was looking forward to playing in “this wonderful tournament,” which in the face of the trend towards shorter forms of the game such as Super Sixes and Twenty 20 was still the best showcase for the 11-a-side game.
One thing the players won’t be looking forward to, however, is the dreaded “potty,” a plastic child’s toilet that the recipient of the award for the worst piece of fielding has to chug a beer from.
“It hasn’t been washed since the tournament began and I even put the fish in it when I change the water in their tank,” Carrick said.
This weekend’s cricketing extravaganza will see the TSCC go head to head with FCC, Pakistan Cricket Club Taiwan and the Pakistan Badshahs as they battle it out for the title.
This year will also feature a kids’ six-a-side game where some local children will display their cricketing talents, as well as an invitational match featuring a Pakistan XI versus a Rest of the World squad, showcasing “the best cricket Taiwan has to offer,” Carrick said.
Saturday’s action will take place at the Taisugar Baseball Ground on Taitang Road in Pingtung starting at 9:30am, while Sunday’s play will be at Pingtung’s main baseball ground on Fuxing S Road.
Anyone interested in finding out more information can call Andrew Carrick at 0919-557-896.
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